Low privacy risk and high clarity social media support system

ABSTRACT

A method and system are provided. The method includes separating initial user-inputted data into terms. The method further includes determining which terms are identity-related terms relating to an identity of a user, and which terms are clarity-related terms relating to subject-matter clarity. The method also includes calculating a population. The population is a number of individuals satisfying the identity-related terms. The method additionally includes assigning, for each clarity-related term, a clarity level, representing a respective amount of clarity for a respective one of the clarity-related terms. The method further includes creating amended user-inputted data by amending the initial user-inputted data such that the population is greater than or equal to a first threshold, and such that the clarity level, assigned for each clarity-related term, is greater than or equal to a second threshold. The method also includes transmitting, using a graphical user interface, the amended user-inputted data to respondents.

BACKGROUND Technical Field

The present invention generally relates to privacy protection, and, moreparticularly, to social media support systems that satisfy low privacyrisk and high clarity.

Description of the Related Art

Many social media processes and applications require users to inputvarious types and amounts of data. For example, for write-in questions,inquiries, and consultations in social media, users are often required,to some extent, to input specific public information and personalinformation such as, the user's age, address, education, profession,annual income, family structure, etc. A downside to inputting personalinformation on social media is that, the more personal information auser inputs on social media, and the more frequently the user inputsthat information, the higher the probability that some form of leakageof the personal information will occur.

Due to the possibility of leakage of personal data, there has been agrowing need for some form of system/method that enables users to inputpersonal information on social media while still maintaining the privacyof the users and at the same time enabling one or more respondents to beable to accurately respond to the user's information.

SUMMARY

According to an aspect of the present principles, a method is providedfor decreasing privacy risk and increasing clarity in a social mediasystem. The method includes separating initial user-inputted data into aplurality of terms. The method further includes determining which of theplurality of terms are identity-related terms relating to an identity ofa user, and which of the plurality of terms are clarity-related termsrelating to subject-matter clarity. The method also includescalculating, using a processor, a population. The population is a numberof individuals that satisfies the identity-related terms. The methodadditionally includes assigning, for each of the clarity-related terms,a clarity level. The clarity level represents a respective amount ofclarity for a respective one of the clarity-related terms. The methodfurther includes creating amended user-inputted data by amending theinitial user-inputted data such that the population is greater than orequal to a first predefined threshold, and such that the clarity level,assigned for each of the clarity-related terms, is greater than or equalto a second predefined threshold. The method also includes transmitting,using a graphical user interface, the amended user-inputted data to oneor more respondents.

According to another aspect of the present principles, a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium is provided. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium includes a computer-readable programfor decreasing privacy risk and increasing clarity in a social mediasystem. The computer-readable program when executed on a computer causesthe computer to perform a method. The method includes separating initialuser-inputted data into a plurality of terms. The method furtherincludes determining which of the plurality of terms areidentity-related terms relating to an identity of a user, and which ofthe plurality of terms are clarity-related terms relating tosubject-matter clarity. The method also includes calculating, using aprocessor, a population. The population is a number of individuals thatsatisfies the identity-related terms. The method additionally includesassigning, for each of the clarity-related terms, a clarity level. Theclarity level represents a respective amount of clarity for a respectiveone of the clarity-related terms. The method further includes creatingamended user-inputted data by amending the initial user-inputted datasuch that the population is greater than or equal to a first predefinedthreshold, and such that the clarity level, assigned for each of theclarity-related terms, is greater than or equal to a second predefinedthreshold. The method additionally includes transmitting, using agraphical user interface, the amended user-inputted data to one or morerespondents.

According to yet another aspect of the present principles, a system isprovided for decreasing privacy risk and increasing clarity in a socialmedia system. The system includes a processor configured to separateinitial user-inputted data into a plurality of terms. The processor isfurther configured to determine which of the terms are identity-relatedterms relating to an identity of a user, and which of the terms areclarity-related terms relating to subject-matter clarity. The processoris also configured to calculate a population. The population is a numberof individuals that satisfies the identity-related terms. The processoris additionally configured to assign, for each of the clarity-relatedterms, a clarity level. The clarity level represents a respective amountof clarity for a respective one of the clarity-related terms. Theprocessor is further configured to create amended user-inputted data byamending the initial user-inputted data so that the population isgreater than or equal to a first predefined threshold, and so that theclarity level, assigned for each of the clarity-related terms, isgreater than or equal to a second predefined threshold. The systemfurther includes a memory configured to store the initial user-inputteddata, the population, the clarity values, the first predefinedthreshold, and the second predefined threshold. The system also includesa graphical user interface configured to transmit the amendeduser-inputted data to one or more respondents.

These and other features and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing detailed description of illustrative embodiments thereof,which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description will provide details of preferred embodimentswith reference to the following figures wherein:

FIG. 1-3 show an exemplary method for allowing users to share an amountof information required in order to enable respondents to accuratelyanswer any inquiries, while still maintaining the privacy of the users,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary system for allowing users to share an amountof information required in order to enable respondents to accuratelyanswer any inquiries, while still maintaining the privacy of the users,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows an exemplary system for decreasing user privacy risk andincreasing clarity in social media systems, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 shows an exemplary processing system, to which the presentinvention can be applied, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 7 depicts a cloud computing environment in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 8 depicts abstraction model layers in accordance with an embodimentof the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention is directed to a social media support system thatsatisfies low privacy risk and high clarity. In accordance with thepresent invention, the described system receives original (initial)user-inputted data, alters the original user-inputted data to maintainthe privacy of a user while also maintaining the clarity of theuser-inputted data within a threshold, and submits the altereduser-inputted data to one or more respondents so that the one or morerespondents can accurately respond to any inquiries the user may have.

For online user inquiries, users typically input the information that isrequired to enable a respondent to accurately respond to anyquestions/concerns the users may have. The more information the usersprovide, the more accurate a respondent's response can be. However, manyusers may wish for most or all of the information they provide to notfall into the possession of unwanted third parties. Due to the amount ofinformation users provide, and the increased frequency of user-submittedinformation in the Internet age, leakage of the user-inputtedinformation is an issue. Leakage of information can lead to unwantedthird parties gaining access to the information that the users supplied.In the system according to the present invention, terms are extractedfrom the original user-inputted data and, from these terms, identifiableinformation about the user and clarity information concerning the user'sinquiry, based on predefined factors, are extrapolated. The system thenalters the original user-inputted data to maintain the user's privacyand maintain the clarity of the user's original user-inputted data. Onceany alterations are made to the original user-inputted data, the altereduser-inputted data is submitted to one or more respondents so that theone or more respondents can accurately respond to the user's inquiry.

Strictly making alterations to the user-inputted data to protect theprivacy of the user may lead to alterations the decrease the clarity ofthe user's inquiry. Furthermore, strictly making alterations to theuser-inputted data to increase the clarity of the user-inputted data maylead to a decrease in the user's privacy. By making alterations toincrease the privacy of a user while conjunctively making alterations toincrease the clarity of the user's inquiry, the system in according tothe present principle is able to submit clear information to one or morerespondents while maintaining the user's privacy.

Referring now to the drawings in which like numerals represent the sameor similar elements and initially to FIGS. 1-3, an exemplary method 100is provided for allowing users to share an amount of informationrequired in order to enable respondents to accurately respond, whilestill maintaining the privacy of the users, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

At step 105, prepare a user-submission tool. The user-submission tool isa digital outlet by which the user has the ability to submit theoriginal user-inputted data. The tool can be, e.g., a questionnaire, ageneral inquiry, an open-ended form, etc. Predefined categories (g) andkeyword items (i) are incorporated into each tool, and an abstractionlevel (a_i) and a clarity level (c_{gi}) are prepared. Categories (g)are subject-matter factors and pertain to what the user is writingabout, and are typically automatically defined by the system, which,according to an embodiment, is machine-learned using past user-submitteddata. The keyword items (i) consist of factors that are important todefine the clarity of the original user-inputted data (also known as a“write-in”). Clarity levels (c_{gi}) are assigned for each combinationof category (g) and item (i). TABLE 1, e.g., shows a preparedabstraction level (a_i) and clarity level (c_{gi}) for a write-inquestionnaire.

TABLE 1 Clarity level(c_{gi}) Per Category (g) Life Asset WelfareAbstraction Insurance Management System Item (i) Publication Level Level(a_i) (g = 1) (g = 2) (g = 3) Address Town 1 5 6 5 (i = 1) City, Ward 24 5 4 Prefecture, Region 3 2 3 3 Nation 4 1 1 1 Name (i = 2) Full Name 1— — — Family Name 2 — — — Given Name 3 — — — Initial 4 — — — Age (i = 3)Actual Age 1 10  5 9 What Teen, School Grade 2 8 4 5 Occupation CompanyName + 1 5 6 6 (i = 4) Department Company Name 2 3 5 6 Sort ofOccupation 3 2 3 1 Employment Regular Employee, Part 1 1 1 2 ConditionTimer (i = 5) Family Marriage + Age of Children 1 8 7 6 StructureMarriage + Number of 2 6 6 4 (i = 6) Children Marriage 3 5 5 2 Annual XXMillion Yen 1 8 8 5 Income Order of XX Million Yen 3 4 5 1 (i = 7)Above/Below XX Million 3 4 5 1 Yen

At step 110, present a user with the user-submission tool on, e.g., asocial media webpage.

At step 115, receive, by a system, a write-in (W) from a user. Thisinformation includes, e.g., data necessary for a respondent toaccurately respond to the user and can include personal and/or privateinformation (e.g., name, age, address, income, family history, medicalhistory, etc.).

At step 117, separate the write-in into a plurality of terms (orkeywords {w_j}).

At step 120, calculate, using the system, a population (Vs) and aclarity, or clarity value, (Vc), which is calculated by using claritylevels of each term, one of the methods to calculate the Vc is tocalculate the sum of the clarity levels as Equation (2), that correspondto W.

The system determines which terms in the write-in (W) pertain to theidentity of the user. The system then determines how many individualpeople would satisfy the identifiable terms present in the user write-in(W). This number of individual people is the population (Vs).

The system also determines which terms in the user write-in (W) pertainto the clarity of the subject-matter of the user write-in (W). Theclarity levels (c_{gi}) are assigned for these terms. The clarity levels(c_{gi}) are defined by experts. For example, the levels (c_{gi}) forthe category “Life Insurance” in TABLE 2 can be defined by individualssuch as insurance experts.

An example of a calculation of population (Vs) for a write-in W, incases where W is not divided into multiple sentences, can be found inEquation (1):

$\begin{matrix}{{Vs} = {{{Fs}(W)} = {N\left\lbrack {\prod\limits_{i \in {\{{i{\mspace{14mu} }{\{{j{{{{Ic}{(w_{j})}} = i}\}}{{> 0}\}}}}}}}\; \left( \frac{\min\limits_{j \in {\{{{j|{{Ic}{(w_{j})}}} = i}\}}}{s_{i}\left( w_{j} \right)}}{N} \right)} \right\rbrack}}} & (1)\end{matrix}$

where Ic(w) is the item number in TABLE 1 after W is divided intokeywords (it returns (−1) when w is not included in TABLE 1), s_i(w) isthe population of w that belongs to item i, and N is the targetpopulation, e.g., Japan's population. If more detailed population datais obtained as statistical data, that too can be used. For example, ifpopulation data of “females in their 30's” is obtained, that can be usedinstead of using both “30's” and “female.”

An example of a calculation of clarity (Vc) for a write-in W, in caseswhere W is not divided into multiple sentences, can be found in Equation(2). The category (g) is extracted from the write-in (W), and from thescore (c_{gi}) of each keyword (w_j) in the write-in (W) at the category(g) and item (i). Vc is then calculated as follows (if more than onekeywords which belong to same item i exist, w_j is used, yieldingmaximum c_{gi}):

$\begin{matrix}{{Vc} = {{{Fc}(W)} = {\Sigma \; {\max\limits_{i{\{{{j|{{Ic}{(w_{j})}}} = i}\}}}{c_{gi}\left( w_{j} \right)}}}}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

For each category (g), items (i) to improve the clarity of the answerare defined, and a score, or clarity level, (c_{gi}) for each item (i)is defined according to the abstraction level (a) of each keyword (referto TABLE 1). The score or the clarity level (c_{gi}) is defined by anexpert (e.g., a financial planner). In the example shown in TABLE 1, 10is the highest score, and 0 means that the item in the category (g) isnot supported (the keyword is not necessary to improve the clarity).

At 125, determine, using the system, if, for each of a predefinedpopulation threshold (Ts), and a predefined clarity threshold (Tc),Equations (3) and (4) are satisfied, wherein Equations (3) and (4) aredefined as:

Vs≧Ts   (3)

Vc≧Tc.   (4)

At step 127, determine if either or both of Equations (3) and (4) arenot satisfied for each threshold. If so, proceed to step 130. Otherwise,if both of Equations (3) and (4) are satisfied for each threshold, thenproceed to step 128, where W can be transmitted to one or morerespondents without changing.

At step 130 propose a change (W′) to the user write-in (W) in which thechange (ΔW) is the minimal change to the original write-in (W) that isrequired to satisfy Equations (3), (4), and (5). Equation (5) is definedas:

ΔW=∥W′−W∥≦Tw   (5)

wherein Tw is the upper limit of ΔW.

At step 132, to change W to satisfy Equations (3), (4), and (5), re-usethe keywords ({w_j}) from W which were created above, and performs anabstraction, embodiment, deletion, and/or addition to each {w_j} tosatisfy Equations (3), (4), and (5), within the limitations of auser-designated rate of changes, and outputs W′. In an embodiment, theuser defines an allowable range of changes (such as, abstraction,instantiation, deletion, addition, items to be added and/or deleted,etc.) from the original user-submitted write-in information. The definedallowable range of changes can be represented as function H( ).

For item, i, of each keyword, {w_j}, {w′_j} (W={w_j}, W′={w′_j}), thesum of the number of new items (i) is calculated (allowing a duplicatedcount of a same item), (n_n) * coefficient (Cn). The number of deleteditems, (n_e) * coefficient (Ce), a change of abstraction level(|A(w_i)−A(w_i′)|) * coefficient(Ca)), and a number of division of thequestion (k_i(>0)) * coefficient (Cd) are also calculated. This leads tothe following expansion of Equation (5):

${\Delta \; W} = {{{W^{\prime} - W}} = {{C_{n}n_{n}} + {C_{e}n_{e}} + {\sum\limits_{i}\left( {{C_{a}{{{A\left( w_{i} \right)} - {A\left( w_{i^{\prime}} \right)}}}} + {C_{d}\left( {k_{i} - 1} \right)}} \right)}}}$

wherein A(x) is an abstraction level of x.

At step 142, determine if any W′ can satisfy Equations (3), (4), and (5)within the user-designated H( ). If so, select a W′ that maximizesVsc=Vs/Ts+Vc/Tc with minimum ΔW, and proceed to step 155. Otherwise,proceed to step 145.

If a W′ which satisfies all of Equations (3), (4), and (5) was not foundby performing an abstraction, embodiment, deletion, and/or addition toeach {w_j}, at step 145, first alter W′ to satisfy only Equation (3).

At 150, divide W′ into m write-in's, {W′k}, k=1, . . . , m, which isequivalent to W′, and include a write-in W′p, 1≦p≦m, which is what theuser wants to ask. For example, as described in hereinafter, if a user,who is 4^(th) grade student, wants to work at broadcast station in aspecific location (e.g., in Osaka) but if including the specificlocation in write-in causes a privacy risk (Vs<Ts) and including nothingor a broader location (e.g., Japan) causes poor clarify (Vc<Tc), theuser includes several specific locations, e.g., Tokyo, Osaka, andNagoya, which include what the user wants to ask (Osaka) and the rest(Tokyo, Nagoya) as dummy. In this case, W′p includes Osaka and the restincludes Tokyo or Nagoya. By using {W′k} instead of W′, Vs is keptunchanged and the Vc of W′p increases, making it possible to satisfy allof Equations (3), (4), and (5).

As long as Equation (3) is satisfied, it is possible to use only a partof {W′k}. Additionally, by using the item division table (i.e., TABLE2), ΔW can be kept small and Equation (5) can be easily satisfied.

TABLE 2 Abstraction [ ] = example of unique division, Item(1)Publication level level (a_i) { } = example of universal divisionAddress City, Ward 2 {west, east}, {south, north}, {central, suburb} (i= 1) Prefecture, 3 [Yamanote, Shitamachi, Tama] (Tokyo), region[Shimousa, Others](Chiba), {West, East}, {South, North}, {Central,Suburb} Nation 4 [East Japan, West Japan](Japan), [Kyushu, Shikoku,Kansai, Chubu, Kanto, Tohoku, Hokkaido] (Japan), [Shuto area, ruralarea] (Japan) Age (i = 3) What teen, 2 {early, late}, {early, mid, late}school grade Occupation Sort of 3 Company employee size = {more than10,000, (i = 4) occupation others}, Company location = {Tokyo area,others} Family Marriage + 2 {School of children (junior, junior high,Structure number of high, university, grad} (i = 6) children Marriage 3{Have children, no child} Annual Order of XX 2 {first half, last half}Income million yen (i = 7) Above/Below 3 {above YY million yen, above XXmillion XX million yen yen, others}

The calculation of Vs and Vc changes in cases where W is divided intomultiple sentences. In such cases, assume w_(k), a keyword of W={w₁, . .. , w_(k), . . . , w_(n)}, is further divided into w _(k) ={w_(k)^([1]), w_(k) ^([q])., w_(k) ^([m])}, where the coverage of w _(k) isequivalent to w_(k), and w_(k) ^([q]), 1≦q≦m, is what the useroriginally wants to include (ask). If the user asks |Q| questions as

${W^{\prime} = {\left\{ W^{\prime {\lbrack j\rbrack}} \right\} = {\bigcup\limits_{j \in Q}W^{\prime {\lbrack j\rbrack}}}}},$

Q ⊂ {1, 2, . . . , m}, q ∈ Q, where W′^([j])={w₁, . . . , w_(k−1), w_(k)^([j]), w_(k+1), . . . , w_(n)}), then the clarity Vc is equal to theone for W′^([q]) while the population Vs is the one for

${\bigcup\limits_{j \in Q}W^{\prime {\lbrack j\rbrack}}},$

where {W′^([j])}, j ≠ q are dummy questions.

Now, assuming i=Ic(w_(k)) and that c_(gi)(w) varies in proportional tos_(i)(w), then the following Equations are satisfied:

c _(gi)(w _(k))=as _(i)(w _(k))+b,

c _(gi)(w _(k)′)=as _(i)(w _(k)′)+b,

where a and b, are unknown, w_(k)′ is a keyword that satisfiesA(w_(k)′)=A(w_(k))−1, and A(x) is the abstraction level of x. Then, aand b can be obtained from the two Equations above, and Vs and Vc forW′={W′^([j])}, j ∈ Q, after division, can be calculated as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{{Vs}\left( W^{\prime} \right)} = {{N\left( {\prod\limits_{i,{{{{{\{ j}{{Ic}{(w_{j})}}} = i}\}}{{{> 0},{i \neq k}}}}}^{\;}\; \frac{\min\limits_{\{{{j|{{Ic}{(w_{j})}}} = i}\}}{s_{i}\left( w_{j} \right)}}{N}} \right)} \times \left( \frac{\min \left( {{\min\limits_{\{{j{{{{Ic}{(w_{j})}} = k}\}}}}{s_{k}\left( w_{j} \right)}},{s_{k}\left( w_{\overset{\_}{k}} \right)}} \right)}{N} \right)}} & (3) \\{{{Vc}\left( W^{\prime} \right)} = {{\sum\limits_{i \neq p}{\max\limits_{\{{{j|{{Ic}{(w_{j})}}} = i}\}}{c_{gi}\left( w_{j} \right)}}} + {\max \left( {{\max\limits_{\{{{{j|{{Ic}{(w_{j})}}} = p},{j \neq k}}\}}{c_{gp}\left( w_{j} \right)}},{c_{gp}\left( w_{k}^{\lbrack q\rbrack} \right)}} \right)}}} & (4)\end{matrix}$

At step 152, adopt the changed write-in, W′. This maximizesVsc=Vs/Ts+Vc/Tc with minimum ΔW, determine if any W can satisfyEquations (3), (4). And Equation (5) within the user defined H( ). Ifso, select a W′ that maximizes Vsc=Vs/Ts+Vc/Tc with minimum ΔW, andproceed to step 155. Otherwise, proceed to step 153, where a W′ thatsatisfy all of the Equations (3), (4), and (5) was not found. In thiscase, the user can be asked to totally change W or to confirm if it isokay to transmit current W′ with limitation of privacy, non-clearness,and/or too much changes.

To find W′ that satisfy Equations (3), (4), and (5), the system cansearch for possible changes within ΔW≧dW to speed up the calculation.This is especially effective when Vs and/or Vc is small, by skipping asearch of changes that satisfy ΔW<dW.

TABLE 3 shows the least necessary amount to change db(dWDB), assuming,from TABLE 1, that g=3, Ts=13000, and Tc=16. In detail, first calculateVs/Ts and Vc/Tc with original W , then find the minimal changes to beapplied to W from the TABLE 3, and thereafter apply the changes equal toor more than that value to W, which satisfies both Equations (3) and(4), while confirming that the change also satisfies Equation (5). Forexample, if Vs/Ts=0.8 and Vc/Tc=0.6, W needs to be changed with ΔW≧6changes, where an example to calculate ΔW is described above (beforechanged)

TABLE 3

At step 155, transmit the updated write-in (W′) to one or morerespondents so that the one or more respondents can respond to theupdated write-in (W′).

Referring now to FIG. 4, an exemplary system 200 is provided foraltering original user-inputted data to achieve a level of both privacyand clarity in the altered user-inputted data, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

The system 200 includes one or more graphical user interfaces 205(including one or more displays 210), one or more memories 215, and oneor more computer processers (CPUs) 217 which contain one or more of acategory extractor (Fg) 220, a population calculator (Fs) 225, and aclarity calculator (Fc) 230.

The memory 215 can store inquiries which a user may be required toprovide information, can store user-submitted information (W), and cancontain a clarity table (Dc) that includes abstraction levels (a_i) andclarity levels (c_{gi}) for categories (g) and a keyword items (i)located in the user write-in (W).

The category extractor (Fg) 220 extracts categories (g) into which thesubject-matter of the write-in (W) belongs. The population calculator(Fs) 225 calculates the population (Vs) that corresponds to the terms inthe write-in (W) pertaining to the identity of the user. The claritycalculator (Fc) 230 calculates the clarity (Vc) of the terms in thewrite-in (W) for each category (g).

The user's tolerance range (H( )) is inputted into the system anddesignates the items, words, phrases, etc., that the user does not wantdeleted, added, abstracted, or embodied.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an exemplary system 300 for decreasing userprivacy risk and increasing clarity in social media systems isillustratively depicted in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

While many aspects of system 300 are described in singular form for thesake of illustration and clarity, the same can be applied to multipleones of the items mentioned with respect to the description of system300. For example, while a single display 315 is mentioned with respectto system 300, more than one display 315 can be used in accordance withthe teachings of the present invention, while maintaining the spirit ofthe present invention. Moreover, it is appreciated that the display 315is but one aspect involved with system 300 that can be extended toplural form while maintaining the spirit of the present invention.

In an embodiment, the system 300 can include a plurality of componentswhich, in turn, can include one or more circuits 302, controllers 304,category extractors 310, displays 315, population calculators 320,clarity calculators 330, graphical user interfaces 340, and/or storagedevices 350 (e.g., computer readable storage medium). The abovecomponents can be connected by, for example, one or more networks,buses, or transmission mediums 301, wherein the one or more networks caninclude one or more wired or wireless networks such as, e.g., WIFI,Bluetooth®, etc., and the one or more transmission mediums can includebounded transmission media, such as, coaxial cable, fiber optics, etc.,and unbounded transmission media, such as, radio transmission, microwavetransmission, etc. Furthermore, data (e.g., system condition data,temperature, voltage, etc.) can be collected according to variousembodiments of the present invention. The bus can be connected to anycomponents via a wired or wireless connection.

In an embodiment, the graphical user interface 340 can be employed toenable a user to input an initial write-in (W).

In an embodiment, the category extractor 310 can be employed to extractcategories (g) into which the subject-matter of the write-in (W) belong.

In an embodiment, the population calculator 320 can be employed tocalculate the population (Vs) that corresponds to the write-in (W).

In an embodiment, the clarity calculator 330 can be employed tocalculate the clarity (Vc) of the write-in (W) for each category (g).

At least one storage device 560 can be employed to store, e.g., theinitial write-in (W), the updated write-in (W′), etc.

Referring now to FIG. 6, an exemplary processing system 400 to which thepresent invention can be applied is shown in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention. The processing system 400 includesat least one processor (CPU) 404 operatively coupled to other componentsvia a system bus 402. A cache 406, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 408, aRandom Access Memory (RAM) 410, an input/output (I/O) adapter 420, asound adapter 430, a network adapter 440, a user interface adapter 450,and a display adapter 460, are operatively coupled to the system bus402.

The processing system 400 includes at least one processor (CPU) 404operatively coupled to other components via one or more networks, buses,or transmission mediums 402, wherein the system bus 402 can be connectedto any components via one or more wired or wireless networks such as,e.g., WIFI, Bluetooth®, etc., and the one or more transmission mediumscan include bounded transmission media, such as, e.g., coaxial cable,fiber optics, etc., and unbounded transmission media, such as, e.g.,radio transmission, microwave transmission, etc. A cache 406, a ReadOnly Memory (ROM) 408, a Random Access Memory (RAM) 410, an input/output(I/O) adapter 420, a sound adapter 430, a network adapter 440, a userinterface adapter 450, and a display adapter 460, are operativelycoupled to the system bus 402.

A speaker 432 is operatively coupled to system bus 402 by the soundadapter 430. A transceiver 442 is operatively coupled to system bus 402by network adapter 440. A display device 462 is operatively coupled tosystem bus 402 by display adapter 460.

A first user input device 452, a second user input device 454, and athird user input device 456 are operatively coupled to system bus 402 byuser interface adapter 450. The user input devices 452, 454, and 456 canbe any of a keyboard, a mouse, a keypad, an image capture device, amotion sensing device, a microphone, a device incorporating thefunctionality of at least two of the preceding devices, and so forth. Ofcourse, other types of input devices can also be used, while maintainingthe spirit of the present invention. The user input devices 452, 454,and 456 can be the same type of user input device or different types ofuser input devices. The user input devices 452, 454, and 456 are used toinput and output information to and from system 400.

Of course, the processing system 400 can also include other elements(not shown), as readily contemplated by one of skill in the art, as wellas omit certain elements. For example, various other input devicesand/or output devices can be included in processing system 400,depending upon the particular implementation of the same, as readilyunderstood by one of ordinary skill in the art. For example, varioustypes of wireless and/or wired input and/or output devices can be used.Moreover, additional processors, controllers, memories, and so forth, invarious configurations can also be utilized as readily appreciated byone of ordinary skill in the art. These and other variations of theprocessing system 400 are readily contemplated by one of ordinary skillin the art given the teachings of the present invention provided herein.

Moreover, it is to be appreciated that system 200, described withrespect to FIG. 4, is a block diagram showing a system 200 forimplementing respective embodiments of the present invention. Part orall of processing system 200 can be implemented in one or more of theelements of system 400 of FIG. 5.

Further, it is to be appreciated that processing system 400 can performat least part of the methods described herein including, for example, atleast part of method 100 of FIGS. 1-3. Similarly, part or all of system300 of FIG. 5 can be used to perform at least part of the methodsdescribed herein including, for example, at least part of method 100 ofFIGS. 1-3, system 200 of FIG. 4, and system 300 of FIG. 6.

The following is an example scenario in accordance with the presentinvention.

User inputs an original write-in (W). The original write-in states: “I'ma 4^(th) grade XX university male student. I hope to work at broadcaststation. Give me a good advice.”

The user sets the following user tolerance range (H( )): no change is tobe made to the name of the university, the user's grade, and the user'sgender. Furthermore, the user is from Osaka and indicates that he wantsto find a job in the Osaka area.

There is a problem with the user's original write-in (W): the originalwrite-in does not satisfy clarity (Equation (4)). However, population(privacy) (from Equation (3)) is satisfied. If the write-in (W) ischanged to include that the user wants to find a job in Osaka,population will not be satisfied.

According to the native method, the following altered write-in may havebeen created: “I'm a 4^(th) grade XX university male student. I hope towork at broadcast station in Osaka area. Give me a good advice.” Thisaltered write-in does not satisfy Equation (3).

According to an embodiment of the method of the present invention, thefollowing altered write-in can be created: “I'm a 4^(th) grade XXuniversity male student. I hope to work at broadcast station in Tomeihanarea. Give me a good advice for Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka, respectively.”This altered write-in increases the clarity (including Osaka, which theuser signified he wanted to ask). Additionally, by adding dummylocations (Tokyo, Nagoya), population is also satisfied. Thiscorresponds to the division at i=1, a=4 in TABLE 1.

The following is another example scenario in accordance with the presentinvention.

User inputs an original write-in: “I want to consult about a crammingschool for my son who is in fourth grade of a public elementary schoolin Nakano city. He is now going to XX cramming school, but taking ajunior high-school entrance examination into consideration, I'd likechange it. What do you recommend?” It is noted that Nakano is one of thecities in Tokyo.

The user sets the following user tolerance range (H( )): taking localityinto consideration, the user does not want to change the region andcramming information.

There is a problem with the user's original write-in: the originalwrite-in does not satisfy population (Equation (3)) from the son's age,locality, and name of the cramming school.

According to a native method, the following altered write-in may havebeen created: “I want to consult about a cramming school for my son whois in fourth grade of a public elementary school in Tokyo metropolitanarea. He is now attending XX cramming school, but taking a juniorhigh-school entrance examination into consideration, I'd like change itto a high level one. What do you recommend?” Clarity would not besatisfied from this native method.

According to another native method, the following altered write-in mayhave been created: “I want to consult about a cramming school for my sonwho is in higher classes of a public elementary school in Nakano city.He is now attending XX cramming school, but taking a junior high-schoolentrance examination into consideration, I'd like change it to a highlevel one. What do you recommend?” Clarity would also not be satisfiedby this native method.

According to yet another native method, the following altered write-inmay have been created: “I want to consult about a cramming school for myson who is in fourth grade of a public elementary school in Nakano city.He is now attending a cramming school, but taking a junior high-schoolentrance examination into consideration, I'd like change it to a highlevel one. What do you recommend?” Clarity would also not be satisfiedby this native method.

Not only do these native methods not satisfy clarity, but the user alsodoes not know which of these 3 native methods is the closest to satisfythe Equations (3), (4), and (5).

According to an embodiment of the method of the present invention, thefollowing altered write-in (changed from the first native method) iscreated: “I want to consult about a cramming school for my son who is infourth grade of a public elementary school in old 3rd district (Nakano,Suginami, Nerima). He is now attending a cramming school, but taking ajunior high-school entrance examination into consideration, I'd likechange it. What do you recommend?” The following altered write-in is notasking to answer for each city since it is apparent that the answer isdifferent per city. The user only has to select the answer forNakano-city. Clarity is unchanged and population is satisfied. Thiscorresponds to i=1, a=3 in TABLE 1. According to this method, “in Nakanocity” is first changed to “in Metropolitan area,” then, after division,is rewritten to “in old 3rd district (Nakano, Suginami, Nerima).”

According to an embodiment of the method of the present invention, thefollowing altered write-in (changed from the second native method) iscreated: “I want to consult about a cramming school for my son who is inhigher classes of a public elementary school in Nakano city. He is nowattending a cramming school, but taking a junior high-school entranceexamination into consideration, I'd like change it to a high level one.What do you recommend for each grade, respectively?” The followingaltered write-in corresponds to i=3, a=2 in TABLE 1. According to thismethod, “fourth grade” is first changed to “higher classes,” thenchanged to “higher classes” plus “for each grade, respectively.”

It is to be understood that although this disclosure includes a detaileddescription on cloud computing, implementation of the teachings recitedherein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time.

Measured service: cloud systems automatically control and optimizeresource use by leveraging a metering capability at some level ofabstraction appropriate to the type of service (e.g., storage,processing, bandwidth, and active user accounts). Resource usage can bemonitored, controlled, and reported, providing transparency for both theprovider and consumer of the utilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based e-mail).The consumer does not manage or control the underlying cloudinfrastructure including network, servers, operating systems, storage,or even individual application capabilities, with the possible exceptionof limited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting forload-balancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure that includes anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 7, illustrative cloud computing environment 750 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 750 includes one or morecloud computing nodes 710 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 754A, desktop computer 754B, laptop computer 754C,and/or automobile computer system 754N may communicate. Nodes 710 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 750 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 754A-Nshown in FIG. 7 are intended to be illustrative only and that computingnodes 710 and cloud computing environment 750 can communicate with anytype of computerized device over any type of network and/or networkaddressable connection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 8, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 750 (FIG. 7) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 8 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 860 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include: mainframes 861;RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer) architecture based servers 862;servers 863; blade servers 864; storage devices 865; and networks andnetworking components 866. In some embodiments, software componentsinclude network application server software 867 and database software868.

Virtualization layer 870 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers871; virtual storage 872; virtual networks 873, including virtualprivate networks; virtual applications and operating systems 874; andvirtual clients 875.

In one example, management layer 880 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning 881 provides dynamic procurement ofcomputing resources and other resources that are utilized to performtasks within the cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing 882provide cost tracking as resources are utilized within the cloudcomputing environment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may include applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal 883 provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management 884provides cloud computing resource allocation and management such thatrequired service levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planningand fulfillment 885 provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of,cloud computing resources for which a future requirement is anticipatedin accordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 890 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation 891; software development and lifecycle management 892;virtual classroom education delivery 893; data analytics processing 894;transaction processing 895; and privacy and clarity maintenance insocial media systems 896.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of theorder noted in the Figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

Reference in the specification to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” ofthe present invention, as well as other variations thereof, means that aparticular feature, structure, characteristic, and so forth described inconnection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment ofthe present invention. Thus, the appearances of the phrase “in oneembodiment” or “in an embodiment”, as well any other variations,appearing in various places throughout the specification are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

It is to be appreciated that the use of any of the following “/”,“and/or”, and “at least one of”, for example, in the cases of “A/B”, “Aand/or B” and “at least one of A and B”, is intended to encompass theselection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of thesecond listed option (B) only, or the selection of both options (A andB). As a further example, in the cases of “A, B, and/or C” and “at leastone of A, B, and C”, such phrasing is intended to encompass theselection of the first listed option (A) only, or the selection of thesecond listed option (B) only, or the selection of the third listedoption (C) only, or the selection of the first and the second listedoptions (A and B) only, or the selection of the first and third listedoptions (A and C) only, or the selection of the second and third listedoptions (B and C) only, or the selection of all three options (A and Band C). This may be extended, as readily apparent by one of ordinaryskill in this and related arts, for as many items listed.

Having described preferred embodiments of a system and method (which areintended to be illustrative and not limiting), it is noted thatmodifications and variations can be made by persons skilled in the artin light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood thatchanges may be made in the particular embodiments disclosed which arewithin the scope of the invention as outlined by the appended claims.Having thus described aspects of the invention, with the details andparticularity required by the patent laws, what is claimed and desiredprotected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for decreasing privacy risk andincreasing clarity in a social media system, comprising: separatinginitial user-inputted data into a plurality of terms; determining whichof the plurality of terms are identity-related terms relating to anidentity of a user, and which of the plurality of terms areclarity-related terms relating to subject-matter clarity; calculating,using a processor, a population, wherein the population is a number ofindividuals that satisfies the identity-related terms; assigning, foreach of the clarity-related terms, a clarity level, the clarity levelrepresenting a respective amount of clarity for a respective one of theclarity-related terms; creating amended user-inputted data by amendingthe initial user-inputted data such that the population is greater thanor equal to a first predefined threshold, and such that the claritylevel, assigned for each of the clarity-related terms, is greater thanor equal to a second predefined threshold; and transmitting, using agraphical user interface, the amended user-inputted data to one or morerespondents.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: extractingcategories from the initial user-inputted data; automatically definingthe categories, and wherein the clarity level for each of theclarity-related terms is assigned to a respective category from a set ofcategories.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the clarity level for eachof the clarity-related terms is assigned to the respective category fromthe set of categories by a respective expert in a technological fieldrelating to the respective category.
 4. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising performing, on one or more of the plurality of terms, anaction selected from the group consisting of abstracting, embodying,deleting, and adding.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprisingreceiving, into a memory device, a tolerance range from the user,wherein the tolerance range designates one or more of the plurality ofterms that are not to be altered by said creating step.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the population is calculated using statistical data todetermine the number of individuals that satisfies the identity-relatedterms.
 7. The method of claim 1, where the clarity level is calculatedby summing respective clarity levels of each of a set of items relatingto the clarity-related terms.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein saidcreating step comprises: initially altering the user-inputted data tocreate altered data such that the number of individuals is greater thanor equal to the first predefined threshold; and dividing the altereddata into two or more sentences of separated, wherein at least one ofthe sentences includes what the user wants to ask, so that the claritylevel of the separated data, which includes what the user wants to ask,is greater than or equal to the second predefine threshold.
 9. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: pre-calculating a least amount ofchanges to the initial user-inputted data resulting from a combinationof the population and the clarity level for each of the clarity-relatedterms; and skipping a performance of a search operation on otheruser-inputted data, when the other user-inputted data is provided forsearching for changes between the initial user-inputted data and theother user-inputted data and the other user-inputted data cannot satisfythe first predefined threshold and the second predefined threshold. 10.A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium including acomputer-readable program for decreasing privacy risk and increasingclarity in a social media system, wherein the computer-readable programwhen executed on a computer causes the computer to perform a methodcomprising the steps of: separating initial user-inputted data into aplurality of terms; determining which of the plurality of terms areidentity-related terms relating to an identity of a user, and which ofthe plurality of terms are clarity-related terms relating tosubject-matter clarity; calculating, using a processor, a population,wherein the population is a number of individuals that satisfies theidentity-related terms; assigning, for each of the clarity-relatedterms, a clarity level, the clarity level representing a respectiveamount of clarity for a respective one of the clarity-related terms;creating amended user-inputted data by amending the initialuser-inputted data such that the population is greater than or equal toa first predefined threshold, and such that the clarity level, assignedfor each of the clarity-related terms, is greater than or equal to asecond predefined threshold; and transmitting, using a graphical userinterface, the amended user-inputted data to one or more respondents.11. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10,wherein the method further comprises: extracting categories from theinitial user-inputted data; automatically defining the categories, andwherein the clarity level for each of the clarity-related terms isassigned to a respective category from a set of categories.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein theclarity level for each of the clarity-related terms is assigned to therespective category from the set of categories by a respective expert ina technological field relating to the respective category.
 13. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein themethod further comprises performing, on one or more of the plurality ofterms, an action selected from the group consisting of abstracting,embodying, deleting, and adding.
 14. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 10, wherein the method furthercomprises receiving, into a memory device, a tolerance range from theuser, wherein the tolerance range designates one or more of theplurality of terms that are not to be altered by said creating step. 15.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, whereinthe population is calculated using statistical data to determine thenumber of individuals that satisfies the identity-related terms.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, where theclarity level is calculated by summing respective clarity levels of eachof a set of items relating to the clarity-related terms.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, whereinsaid creating step comprises: initially altering the user-inputted datato create altered data such that the number of individuals is greaterthan or equal to the first predefined threshold; and dividing thealtered data into two or more sentences of separated, wherein at leastone of the sentences includes what the user wants to ask, so that theclarity level of the separated data, which includes what the user wantsto ask, is greater than or equal to the second predefine threshold. 18.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 10, whereinthe method further comprises: pre-calculating a least amount of changesto the initial user-inputted data resulting from a combination of thepopulation and the clarity level for each of the clarity-related terms;and skipping a performance of a search operation on other user-inputteddata, when the other user-inputted data is provided for searching forchanges between the initial user-inputted data and the otheruser-inputted data and the other user-inputted data cannot satisfy thefirst predefined threshold and the second predefined threshold.
 19. Asystem for decreasing privacy risk and increasing clarity in a socialmedia system, comprising: a processor configured to: separate initialuser-inputted data into a plurality of terms; determine which of theterms are identity-related terms relating to an identity of a user, andwhich of the terms are clarity-related terms relating to subject-matterclarity; calculate a population, wherein the population is a number ofindividuals that satisfies the identity-related terms; assign, for eachof the clarity-related terms, a clarity level, the clarity levelrepresenting a respective amount of clarity for a respective one of theclarity-related terms; and create amended user-inputted data by amendingthe initial user-inputted data so that the population is greater than orequal to a first predefined threshold, and so that the clarity level,assigned for each of the clarity-related terms, is greater than or equalto a second predefined threshold; a memory configured to store theinitial user-inputted data, the population, the clarity values, thefirst predefined threshold, and the second predefined threshold; and agraphical user interface configured to transmit the amendeduser-inputted data to one or more respondents.
 20. The system of claim19, wherein the memory is further configured to store a tolerance rangefrom the user, wherein the tolerance range designates one or more of theplurality of terms that are not to be altered.